plan a modern wedding in the middle of the country

Weddings with bright bold color tend to land at the top of my list. I love when a couple just goes for it, using color in every opportunity – from clothing and accessories to flowers, lighting and linens. I mean, I love a classic white on white look, but color speaks to me. Camille and Jeremy used ABODE’s beautiful urban space as the canvas to pop blues and pinks against. So colorful and fun.

Oh, and how could I forget the ceremony in-the-round. Genius idea for ensuring your guests can all see, and to create a more intimate setting.

Amber’s choice of bold blues and purples give her classic wedding a modern touch. Plus the simple flowers and feathers create the perfect balance of decor. It’s great to see when a bride’s vision of elegance and simplicity come to life, because sometimes it’s what’s not on the table that makes the difference (sort of like that rule take a look in the mirror and remove one accessory, and you’re good to go!).

From the Bride:
Starting early morning, I and my bridal party arrived at the church eager to start the exciting day. While getting our hair and makeup done, we turned on some music and hung out in our monogrammed robes; a gift to them from me. We ate lunch, catered in sandwiches, in between turns sitting in the hair and makeup chairs. Once we were all done “primping”, we gathered for a champagne toast to wish us all luck and what the day had ahead.

We headed outside to take group pictures, just the me and my bridesmaids to start, followed by the my family. Meanwhile, Thomas and his guys gathered in the basement of the church. As they were all dressing, the photographer snuck around to get as many candid pictures as possible. Once dressed, the guys headed out for pictures. Once they wrapped up their groom shots, the downtime mean lots of goofing around and even a couple rounds of Trivial Pursuit.

After all the separate wedding photos are taken, Thomas stood alone, facing the chapel and awaited my arrival for our first look. All he could hear was the clicking of my heels inching closer to him as I approached him from behind. We both had huge smiles, knowing that this moment is easing both of our nerves and all we can think about is how happy we are. We shared this special moment together as our photographer captured a few moments to freeze in time.

At the ceremony, the feeling of love and romance came alive with live music playing thanks to the musician who was a friend of mine and Thomas’. The music continued as the wedding party procession starts and the ceremony begins. The live band performed “Marry Me” after our vows were exchanged. As the ceremony wrapped up, the planted a big kiss and the hard part was over – it was time for our reception!

I had worked on our wedding book long enough, so I was very eager to see all of my hard work and planning come to life. Moving toasts from the Maid of Honor, Best Man and Father of the Bride reminded our guests that love is priceless and it was the reason we were all there. Guests of all ages were dancing, laughing and crying together. It was the perfect way to finish up our beautiful day!

This engagement session has style, attitude and fun. And, because the bride-to-be is an actress, the couple chose to snap some of their photos at the Orpheum Theatre. Quite fitting, if you ask me. Plus, I can’t help but love that last photo of Tara and Dennis.

From Jaclyn, the photographer: Tara and Dennis are planning a stylish, modern 2012 wedding, and they wanted their engagement session to reflect the same style. They split their session into two halves. Off-camera lighting was used for both shoots to create drama and and to add bright pops of color and texture. Part one took place on Commerce Street, an arts district in Wichita, Kansas. Part two was shot inside the historic Orpheum Theatre in downtown Wichita. Since Tara is an actress at the Mosley Street Melodrama in town, shooting inside the old theatre felt appropriate.

This wedding is full of sweet and simple. One of my favorite combinations. The bride, Lauren, made sure to use her mom and future mother-in-law for help to create the romantic and personal feel. Including family members is a way to not only take some stress off of you, but bring your family closer together as you merge two families.

From the Couple: Bret and I had lots of time to plan our special day, as we were engaged for almost two years before we tied the knot. It was so nice to have time to research vendors and get all the details ironed out. Besides, I loved being engaged because it was such a fun time! I also really enjoyed the planning process and used The Knot for ideas and organization. For us, we tried to create a classic, warm, romantic wedding with a touch of vintage that could be done on a budget. Bret and I were both blessed with super organized moms that love to plan, so they were a huge help in the planning process as well. Photography was the most important to us because after the day was over, we wanted to have beautiful pictures to look back on. Jaclyn did not disappoint! Family and friends were also a huge part of our wedding! They all played such an important role, whether it was helping with planning and set-up, taking part in the ceremony, or being in the wedding party. We were so grateful to all of them!

When I look back on our wedding day, it really was the best day of my life! If I could relive our wedding day everyday, I absolutely would. It was filled with such warm and loving moments and lots of laughter. When I look back now and think of our day, it immediately puts a smile on my face. Everything worked out perfectly and it exceeded my expectations. I know that our fairytale was possible due to our wonderful family, friends, and vendors! We couldn’t have asked for a better day!